Attracting talent and retaining employees are often treated as separate challenges. Yet, in many cases, the factors that encourage someone to join an organisation are the same factors that influence their decision to stay.
While compensation and career opportunities remain important, professionals are increasingly taking a broader view when evaluating employers. Drawing on responses from 224 professionals, this article explores the factors shaping career decisions before and after joining a company, and what these findings mean for employers looking to attract and retain talent.
Understanding Today's Professional Priorities
Company condition and stability was identified as the most important factor when evaluating an employer (31%), followed by workplace environment (16%) and relationship with a supervisor (13%).
The findings suggest that professionals are looking beyond the role itself when making career decisions. Responsibilities, compensation, reporting lines, and career opportunities all continue to matter, but many professionals are also paying close attention to the organisation behind the opportunity.
A company's stability, workplace environment, and quality of leadership all contribute to how confident professionals feel about committing to an employer.
This highlights an important reality for organisations: attracting and retaining talent is influenced not only by the position being offered, but also by the trust people have in the company itself.
With company condition and stability emerging as the strongest consideration, it is worth exploring why stability remains such an influential factor throughout the employee journey.
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Company Stability Is More Than Numbers
 | More than half of professionals (53%) identified a stable company as their preferred type of employer, compared with 21% who preferred a growing company and 15% who prioritised organisations with a large business impact. For many professionals, stability represents far more than financial performance. It can provide a sense of certainty about the future, helping employees feel more confident about their roles, career prospects, and long-term plans. That confidence can be shaped by several factors, including:
Taken together, these elements help create an environment where professionals feel supported and secure. As competition for talent continues, organisations that demonstrate these qualities may be better positioned not only to attract professionals seeking long-term opportunities, but also to strengthen retention over time |
The Factors Behind Job Change Decisions
The survey found that professionals most commonly considered changing jobs due to the following reasons:
Looking more closely at respondents who selected organisation-related factors or compensation, dissatisfaction or insecurity towards the organisation (28%) emerged as the most frequently cited concern, followed by fixed salary (26%) and employee benefits (9%). Other factors, including relationships with supervisors and colleagues, performance-based bonuses, and job content, were also cited, but were less influential. One finding stands out in particular: dissatisfaction or insecurity towards the organisation ranked slightly higher than fixed salary. While financial rewards remain important, the results suggest that confidence in the organisation itself plays a significant role in retention decisions. |  |
Employees are not only evaluating what they earn today. They are also considering how they feel about the company's future, leadership, and overall direction. When confidence begins to decline, even competitive compensation may not be enough to offset wider concerns.
Employer Branding Starts with Employee Experience
A company's reputation is built through everyday employee experiences just as much as through external branding efforts.
Employer branding is often associated with recruitment campaigns, social media presence, and corporate messaging. While these activities remain important, they represent only part of the picture.
Professionals frequently form opinions through interactions with current and former employees, professional networks, and broader industry reputation. As a result, employer branding begins long before a recruitment campaign is launched.
Organisations that communicate transparently, maintain consistent management practices, and build trust internally are often better positioned to strengthen their reputation externally.
The experience employees have inside the organisation can shape how the company is perceived by prospective candidates.
The reverse is also true. Concerns around leadership, communication, compensation, or organisational stability can influence perceptions within the wider talent market. Over time, positive employee experiences can strengthen employer attractiveness, while negative experiences may make it more challenging to attract and retain talent.
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What This Means for Employers
Taken together, the findings suggest that professionals evaluate employers through a combination of organisational and personal considerations. When deciding whether to join or remain with an organisation, professionals are increasingly considering:
Organisational stability
Trustworthy leadership
A positive workplace environment
Long-term career prospects
Confidence in the company's future direction
What is particularly striking is how closely these factors influence both attraction and retention. The qualities that encourage professionals to join an organisation are often the same qualities that encourage them to stay.
For employers, this reinforces the importance of looking beyond recruitment alone. Building trust, maintaining stability, and creating a positive employee experience are not simply retention strategies. They can also play an important role in attracting talent from the outset.
Ultimately, retaining employees begins long before they consider leaving. It starts with creating the kind of organisation that professionals feel confident joining in the first place.
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